Rockwell Automation and OSIsoft have reached an agreement with BHP Billiton, the world’s largest diversified mining company, for the installation of an enterprise historian, a production intelligence platform, at the company’s iron ore operations in Australia. Design is underway with installation to be completed by the end of 2016.

The enterprise historian will use FactoryTalk Historian Site Edition (SE) software from Rockwell Automation and the PI System from OSIsoft. The combination will provide BHP Billiton with visibility of real-time and historical production data across the company’s integrated supply chain of mines, rail and port facilities.

Operators will also gain access to reporting and trending tools that provide insight into performance parameters. The information can be used to identify opportunities to reduce variability, lower costs and improve productivity in operations and across the supply chain.

“An enterprise historian solution takes data and turns it into information,” said Ryan Cahalane, director of Software Product Management, Rockwell Automation. “Many producers are working on how to best leverage an intelligent automation infrastructure and the big data it produces. This is being outlined in smart manufacturing, Industry 4.0 and other global, manufacturing-modernization initiatives.

“The BHP Billiton enterprisewide effort to standardize iron ore data collection, storage and visualisation will be a major step toward smarter production because it creates one version of the truth,” Cahalane explained.

“The company will be able to use this solution to compare disparate assets and operations. This is the type of information that can be transformed into operating knowledge and wisdom,” Cahalane concluded.

Brett Higgins, OSIsoft vice president of Asia Pacific, added, “The Rockwell Automation and OSIsoft combination brings together the best of industrial and enterprise data management. Our solution seamlessly leverages the company’s existing investments at a plant and enterprise level, and pulls in new information from mobile assets. With the quantity of data coming from BHP Billiton iron ore operations, an enterprise historian solution is the only way to easily put it to use.”